A Whole Lot of Trust

A little over a week ago we decided to separate the foster boys from the foster girls. Since there are four boys and only two girls, the boys got to keep the shed and run while I moved the girls into the house. Indoors they had to suffer a cage for a few days while I sorted their room, but now have about 60 square foot of space to themselves.

The change was a bit traumatic for them at first, and this hasn't been helped by inheriting a certain level of jumpiness and distrust from their mum Salsa. In the larger group they had their bolder brothers Browncloud and (the currently nicknamed) Boz to show them when it was safe to lurk about my feet without fear of being scooped for health checks. On their own their behaviour is proving slightly erratic - one minute they are pestering me for snacks or trying to nudge my legs out the way so they can explore the house, the next they are panicked and hiding behind the door (which is simultaneously sad and hilarious to see). But this is one of the great and joyful challenges of fostering, teaching trust and confidence to the sweet and fearful.

Oh, and another challenge of fostering is coping with having your house smell of two un-spayed girl bunnies who want to make it quite clear that their WHOLE room is their domain...

"I'm gonna tell you this from here because I've figured you can't fit your fat butt through this hole, but you should know I just took a big wee in the corner by the radiator. Also, that spot where you just sat down? Erm..."